Comments on: Hart Trophy Should Be A Two-Horse Race

By: K

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 09:00:15 +0000

I think when we look at the MVP, we should look at the impact he has on his teammates. While Ovechkin and Crosby have undoubted value to their teams, where would Vancouver be without H.Sedin? He made Alex Burrows into a 35 goal scorer and Samuelsson into a 30 goal scorer. Not to mention he is magic when playing with his brother, Daniel. Even without him for 17 games, Henrik Sedin still produced point-per-game numbers.

The argument that Ovechkin has played 10 less games (than H.Sedin) is invalid because he gets more ice time per game. When we look at total ice time in the season, H.Sedin only had around 40 minutes more than Ovechkin. Also, Ovechkin gets much more quality ice time. He gets more powerplay time than H.Sedin, and Ovechkin does not really kill penalties whereas H.Sedin kills penalties from time to time.

My vote goes to Henrik Sedin.

By: BobbyG

BobbyG — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 01:33:57 +0000

I don’t think a player like Ovie should be penalized and dismissed as a Hart Trophy winner just because he’s surrounded by a lot of other great players. What makes the other players great? Maybe it’s because Ovie is their leader and mentor and they strive to do well to justify his faith in them. Ovie is the Caps Captain for a reason, and yes, I’m a huge Ovie fan and not ashamed to admit it. I hope he wins another Hart Trophy if only to shut up his detractors.

By: Ode on an Ovechkin Puck

Ode on an Ovechkin Puck — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 20:32:59 +0000

[...] can make the argument that Ovechkin should win the Hart, but only RMNB correspondent Emily Karol can do it in iambic [...]

By: Taylor

Taylor — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 20:15:44 +0000

“Sorry Sidney, maybe next year” or not hopefully.

By: Russian Machine Never Breaks

Russian Machine Never Breaks — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 18:21:40 +0000

@badvibesdude An argument can be made that the Caps would not have “a bunch of world-class players, including a potential Norris-winning defensemen” if not for Ovechkin. That, in of itself, is deserving of the Hart.

Plus, you can’t have your cake and eat it too, meaning: you can’t say the Caps have a good record without Ovechkin when 4 of those 7 wins come against teams which you allude to as being “soft.”

I think the Caps record since he has been captain (.821 win%) is WAY more indicative to the contribution he has had to the team. And I believe that contribution outweighs any Crosby or Sedin have done.

-Neil

By: badvibesdude

badvibesdude — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 18:14:30 +0000

Breaklance,

The “his team is awesome” argument isn’t that simple. Furthermore, it’s the argument Caps fans and Ovie backers used to argue against Malkin winning it last year. Well, the shoe is on the other foot. You can’t go changing the criteria now because it doesn’t benefit Ovechkin anymore.

Again, it doesn’t matter how good of a year Ovechkin is having. The Hart isn’t the award for best individual performance, at least according to a lot of the writers that voted for Ovechkin in 2008-09. That’s why Malkin didn’t win the Hart last year.

By: breaklance

breaklance — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 15:51:36 +0000

@Delgrae, Hart Trophy isn’t found out until June as it is voted upon by “the hockey experts”. You may of meant the Art Ross scoring trophy.

What amuses me though is that a lot people use the “his team is awesome” arguement as if that means he hasn’t had a great year. Having a great team never stopped Wayne Gretzky or Bobby Orr or Mario Lemuix from winning an MVP because they were just that good. Also the suspension arguements didn’t stop guys like Mark Messier, suspended 7 times didn’t stop him from winning MVP honors.

By: badvibesdude

badvibesdude — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:35:23 +0000

The past two years Caps fans and Ovechkin supporters have argued that Ovechkin deserved the Hart mainly because the Caps would not be in the playoffs without him. They argued against Malkin last year saying that he also had Crosby on his team so the Pens would still be fine without him and the Hart isn’t an award for the finest individual season so Malkin’s scoring title shouldn’t figure into it.

Now Ovechkin is surrounded by a bunch of world-class players, including a potential Norris-winning defensemen. The Caps have a good record without Ovechkin. Naturally, the Hart is now an award for the finest individual season.

The Caps get to play 6 games against Tampa, Florida, Atlanta, and Carolina. They would have made the playoffs this year without Ovechkin. They would have been at least a 3-seed.

The Hart should go to Sedin, Miller or Bryzgalov according to the criteria espoused by Ovechkin backers over the past two years. Ovechkin doesn’t deserve it this year and, if he wins it, there’s going to be a lot of backlash against him from fans around the league. People were sick of Crosby getting shoved down their throats and perceived that he was being handed awards and accolades that he didn’t earn. The same will happen to Ovechkin if he wins a Hart that he doesn’t deserve.

By: Mr Beverage

Mr Beverage — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 13:50:28 +0000

“Sorry Ovie, maybe next year.”

maybe this year, probably next year, definitely the last 2 years… to recap the arguments against OV this year:
1) his NHL team is still really really really good without him
2) his non-NHL team didn’t perform as well as expected in non-NHL games
3) he played in 8-10 less NHL games than his peers atop the scoring charts
4) he stuck his knee out once, and hit a guy who was already falling once

By: RED ALERT: Thrashers up tonight « DC Pro Sports Report

RED ALERT: Thrashers up tonight « DC Pro Sports Report — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 13:14:07 +0000

[...] Previews: Official Caps preview, NHL.com, AccuScore, Caps Nut, Peerless, CSN [...]